


In the shadow of the fire

by 4thofFive



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-25
Updated: 2015-10-25
Packaged: 2018-04-28 00:26:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5070799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4thofFive/pseuds/4thofFive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny starts to believe he adds no value to Five-0.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the shadow of the fire

**Author's Note:**

> Another one of my oldies. Written during season 2. My LJ account is expiring in about a week so I'm bringing over whatever stories I have left on it that have some merit.

For the most part, Danny Williams loved working with Steve McGarrett. True, the Super SEAL had no sense of self-preservation, little impulse control and had many, many issues, but he was also smart as hell, brave, tough, surprisingly sweet and had skills usually reserved for super heroes. Steve made things happen and he had a unique perspective on their cases that often led them to achieve fast results and a solve rate that would be the envy of any other law enforcement organization.

The thing was that Steve was so friggin’ fantastic at his job that Danny was starting to feel a little inadequate. Danny wasn’t a man given to a lot of self-doubt or self-pity. He knew he was a great cop and he was proud to have an outstanding record. But now that he was working with Steve he was starting to feel less like a partner and more like the annoying little brother tagging along with the super star older brother. Steve was such a star that Danny felt eclipsed much of the time.

It’s true that Danny knew a hell of a lot more about the legal system than Steve did, but that just meant that Danny usually handled the paperwork – especially to make Steve’s rather unorthodox methods sound like somewhat plausible police procedure.

On any number of nights Danny went home to his tiny apartment and wondered what, if anything, he’d accomplished that day. The truth was that as time went on and Steve became more certain in his policing skills, and more secure in the support of the new Governor, Danny felt that he wasn’t adding the kind of value to their work that he once had. He was starting to think that he might be better off back with HPD where maybe he’d have a bit more opportunity to shine. He’d never mentioned any of this to Steve, especially the HPD part, because he knew his partner would be hurt and upset that he was considering leaving their Ohana. Steve was very possessive of the people he cared about.

Sometimes when people joked about the Danny/Steve partnership they made reference to Danny being Steve’s compass, keeping him pointed the right way and preventing him from spinning off wildly in any direction. But the thing was, Danny didn’t want to be just Steve’s keeper or his conscience, he wanted to be known as a valuable partner, as the second in command of 5-0 and as a great cop in his own right.

What happened on Tuesday was a perfect example. The Governor had come into the 5-0 offices ready to hand over a new assignment. Since Steve was away at an appointment at Pearl, Danny stepped up to be briefed by the Governor and get the team mobilized. Instead the Governor told Danny that he preferred to wait “until the Commander came back so that I won’t have to go over it again a second time.” Danny, who had to fight the urge to pop the Governor in the mouth, assured the man that he was more than capable of taking the briefing and bringing Commander McGarrett up-to-date. The older man demurred, however, and said to have Steve call him when he got in.

Danny was starting to wonder if he was now permanently cast into the role of second banana. Was he still a useful member of the team or was just riding Steve’s coat tails?

 

**********

 

Danny sat at his desk doing paperwork – as usual. He was alone in the office since Steve was meeting with the Governor and Chin and Kono were on the other side of the island following up on a potential lead on their latest case.

The detective blew out a put-upon sigh and got up to fetch more coffee. He had no idea how much he’d had to drink since the day began but he had no doubt he’d be bouncing off the walls tonight. Danny sipped at his coffee as he stood staring out the window into the bright Hawaiian afternoon. Maybe Rachel would let him take Grace out for dinner tonight. His baby girl always made him feel better.

Danny dropped his coffee cup and drew his weapon automatically when he heard the distinct sound of gunfire coming from one of the lower floors of the building.

Moving quickly, Danny ran out of Five-0 offices and began quietly going down the stairs to the building’s second floor. He picked up his pace when he heard screaming from one of the offices in the far end of the building. Danny ran down the hallway leading to the offices of the city’s Children’s Services department. Stopping beside the frosted glass door of the office, he tried to peer in but couldn’t see or hear anything.

Opening the door gently, Danny stepped into the foyer of the office, gun raised, and began methodically searching the front reception area looking for any sign of trouble. He swung around when the door to the entrance he’d just come through opened again and a young police officer started to enter, also with his gun raised. Danny walked quickly over to him and began whispering instructions to call back up and SWAT when he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. The detective swung around to see a scrawny, hollow-eyed man in his mid-20’s with dirty blonde hair standing in the hallway leading to the inner office area. The man aimed a gun at both police officers. Acting instinctively, Danny used his shoulder to shove the young officer back through the main door to safety. As he turned to take aim at the gunman the other man fired and Danny felt hot fire rip into his right bicep. He threw himself to the floor firing at the gunman as he went down, but his shots went wide.

Danny slammed to the ground and tried to roll behind a nearby desk. When he looked up again, the gunman had vanished. Climbing gingerly to his feet, Danny moved to peer down the hallway where he had last seen the gunman. He cursed quietly to himself when he saw the armed man now standing several yards away behind a sobbing woman. He was holding his gun to her right temple, his left arm tight around her neck.

“Drop the gun cop!” the man screamed, his voice quivering with tension.

“You need to end this right here and now,” Danny called back. “Let the woman go and walk out with me. Don’t make this any worse.”

The gunman shoved the weapon hard against the distraught woman’s temple and she cried out in pain.

“Drop your fucking gun right now or I’ll kill her!”

Danny paused for a moment then lowered his weapon to the ground and pushed it slightly away with the toe of his shoe. He grabbed his right arm and clutched the now freely bleeding wound.

The gunman took several steps back deeper into the office dragging the woman with him.

“Get in here, now!” the younger man yelled.

Danny stepped out into the hallway and followed the gunman as he walked backwards, still clutching the woman, until he turned a corner and reached an open area in the centre of a cubicle farm. Glancing around, Danny saw four women and two men cowering on the floor. They looked up at him, their faces pale with terror. Nearby, the body of another woman was sprawled face down on the floor, a pool of blood encircling her head. The detective walked quickly over to her and knelt down to feel for a pulse.

“She’s dead,” the gunman spat, pushing the sobbing woman away to resume her seat on the floor by her co-workers. He kept the gun aimed at Danny.

Danny looked up at the hostage taker.

“Why did you kill her?”

“Bitch took my kid away,” the man yelled, gesturing at the dead woman with his gun. “I tried to talk to her, tried to tell her I’d gotten clean but she wouldn’t fucking listen to me. Kept telling me to go to court and petition to get my son back. I got so mad I came back here to scare her, but the gun went off.”

The detective climbed back to his feet, his body slightly wobbly from loss of blood.

“You’ve pretty much guaranteed you’ll never get your kid back now,” he murmured looking at the other man with disgust.

“No, you’re wrong!” the gunman yelled. “You’re wrong. I’m going to tell the cops to bring my kid here then we’ll escape together.”

Danny sighed and shook his head.

“Don’t be stupid man. I’m a cop and I’m telling you there’s no way anyone’s going to bring a small child into a situation like this, much less turning him over to you. You’re holding a gun, you’ve murdered someone. They’ll never risk your son like that.”

Danny took a step closer to the anxious man and raised one bloodied hand in his direction.

“Listen to me, ok? You let these hostages go, give me the gun and I’ll make sure you see your kid one more time.”

The other man shook his head violently.

“No, no fucking way. You’re a cop. I can’t trust anything you say. I put the gun down you’ll kill me.”

Danny licked his lips. The hostage taker was obviously strung out and terrified. Reasoning with him was going to be difficult. He took a step back and brought his hand back up to clutch his bleeding arm.

“What’s your name?” he asked gently.

The younger man eyed him suspiciously.

“Terry.”

“Terry what?”

“You don’t need to know,” the gunman screamed. “Why do you fucking want to know?”

Danny lifted the hand of his injured arm slightly and made a calming motion.

“Ok, ok I don’t need to know your last name. I’ll just call you Terry. You can call me Danny.”

The gunman continued to eye the detective suspiciously.

“Terry, do you mind if I sit down a minute,” Danny asked, feeling his legs turning to rubber. “I’ve lost a lot of blood and I don’t think I can stand much longer.”

The young man watched him for a moment then glanced around quickly. Spotting a wheeled office chair, he took several steps over to it and shoved it in Danny’s direction with his foot.

The detective sank down into the chair gratefully and smiled weakly at the gunman.

“Thanks man, I really appreciate it.”

The young man shrugged his shoulders, his eyes darting away from Danny and back again.

“I never meant to hurt anyone. I only wanted to scare her,” he said, gesturing with his gun to the dead woman.

Danny nodded and squeezed his eyes together for a moment. He was afraid he’d pass out before he could end this situation.

“I know Terry. Something tells me you’re not a bad guy. You love your kid and you’re upset that you lost him. I can understand that, believe me. I have a nine-year-old daughter. When her Mom divorced me and remarried they packed up and moved to Hawaii. I had to leave my friends and family to follow them here or I’d never see my kid again. Even now I only see her for about 12 hours a week.”

“That sucks man,” replied Terry, wiping his sweaty face with the back of his hand.

“It really does,” continued Danny. “But the thing is, I’m here and I’m alive and I can see her and spend time with her – not as much as I want but it’s something. But you Terry, you’re going to fuck up any chance of ever seeing your kid again if you don’t let these hostages go and end this thing.”

Terry barked out a slightly hysterical laugh.

“Are you fucking kidding me? I’m never going to see my kid again anyway. Even if I don’t get shot and killed by you or some SWAT guy, I’m still going to spend the rest of my life in prison.”

Danny nodded and gripped his arm tighter against the pain.

“You are going to prison; I won’t lie to you about that. But Terry you’ll still be alive. Your son can visit you there and you can write letters to him and talk to him on the phone. At least he’ll know you’re still around and that you love him. If you die here today he’ll only remember you as a guy who didn’t love him enough to end this shit and make it right. You’ll be just another strung out junkie with a gun.”

“I can’t make things right!” the gunman screamed again. “I killed that broad. I can’t fix that!”

Danny took a shaky breath. He could feel himself starting to drift.

“Yes you can, Terry. You can’t bring that woman back but maybe you can plead insanity or something. Maybe the court will take pity on you. Lots of things can happen, you don’t know. But like I said before, at least if you’re alive you’ll have a chance to see your kid again.”

The young man groaned in frustration and rubbed his free hand roughly over his face.

“Fuck!” he yelled. “I don’t know what the fuck to do.”

Nodding his head, Danny glanced over at the other hostages and then back to Terry.

“I have a suggestion,” Danny spoke quietly.

The gunman looked at him almost hopefully.

“Let the hostages go. It will show the cops that you really don’t want to hurt anyone else and they’ll be less inclined to storm this office.”

Terry licked his lips nervously glancing at each of the hostages in turn before looking back at Danny.

“But without them I’ve got nothing.”

The detective shook his head trying to ignore the wave of dizziness the action caused.

“I’ll stay with you. You’ll keep me as a hostage. Believe me, a cop is a very valuable hostage. They aren’t going to want to do anything to risk my life. You’re better off with just me. Fewer people to watch and I’m too weak to be of any danger to you.”

Danny was lying through his teeth. As a cop he always knew that he could face a situation like this and, even though his fellow cops would try to get him out safely, he was expendable if they had to storm the office.

Terry chewed nervously on one knuckle as he considered Danny’s suggestion. Finally he nodded rapidly.

“OK. Ok, if you’re sure they’ll still talk to me – that they won’t try anything.”

Danny nodded and smiled slightly.

“You’re doing the right thing Terry, believe me.”

Gesturing with his gun again, Terry aimed it towards the hostages and then to the exit.

“Get out, all of you! Get the fuck out right now. Tell them I’m holding a cop and I’ll kill him if they don’t give me what I want!”

The frightened hostages looked over at Danny as if needing him to confirm they weren’t dreaming. He nodded weakly at them.

“It’s ok. Leave right now. Tell them Detective Danny Williams is in here and that everything’s under control.”

The hostages climbed slowly to their feet, their eyes darting between Danny and the gunman. Single file they slunk past Terry and vanished down the same hallway that had brought Danny into the situation.

Terry turned back to Danny expectantly as if waiting for the detective to tell him what to do next.

Danny licked his lips and felt a bead of sweat run down his face.

“Terry, man, can you look around and see if there’s anything that I can use as a tourniquet for my arm?”

The gunman walked around glancing into a few of the cubicles until he popped briefly into one and emerged a second later holding a woman’s light cotton sweater. He shoved it at Danny. The detective balled it up in his hands and held it tightly over his wound biting back a moan of pain. He looked up again at the gunman through slightly blurry eyes.

The young junkie looked at him expectantly.

“So what do we do now?”

 

**********

 

Steve turned into the palace’s parking lot but found that access to his personal parking spot was blocked by police cars, ambulances and news vans. He pulled his truck into an open gap between the other vehicles and climbed out, signalling to a nearby officer who jogged over.

“What’s happening?”

The young officer stood almost at attention in Steve’s presence.

“There’s a gunman holding hostages on the second floor sir.”

Steve let out a small sigh of relief. The Five-0 officers were on the third floor. Steve jogged over to the building flashing his badge at anyone who tried to stop him. Taking the stairs two at a time, Steve arrived on the second floor and found a small command post set up behind a barricade with a SWAT officer, a few uniformed cops and two HPD detectives staffing it. Steve was a bit surprised not to see Danny with them. Even though it was an HPD operation, he was sure his partner would want to be in the thick of it.

Steve crouched down beside the officers.

“What’s the situation Lieutenant Anaka?” he questioned the female SWAT Commander.

The dark headed woman in her early 30’s glanced at Steve briefly then turned her attention back to the door leading to the Children’s Services offices.

“There’s apparently one gunman,” she replied. “Unknown number of hostages. We’re trying gets eyes on him from the roof of one of the nearby buildings but we’ve only caught glimpses of him. We’ve been unable to raise anyone on the phone but we’re still trying. As far as we know, Detective Williams in unharmed.”

Steve stiffened at that and swiveled his head sharply towards the Lieutenant.

“What? Danny is in there?”

The Lieutenant looked up at him in horror.

“I…I’m sorry Commander. I thought you knew. I thought that was why you were here.”

“Oh Jesus,” breathed Steve before pulling his weapon from its holster and standing up ready to charge down the hall and into the Children’s Services offices. Before he could move the SWAT Lieutenant and the two nearby officers grabbed him and forced him back to the floor. Steve shoved them away ready to charge again when the Lieutenant grabbed his arm and squeezed it tightly.

“Commander, you need to calm down! You’re going to make the situation worse if you go in guns blazing.”

“That’s my partner in there,” Steve hissed, his eyes dark with rage and fear.

“I know that sir,” she responded, “and we’ll get him out, but we have to be smart about this, you know that better than anyone. Detective Williams is a trained hostage negotiator. If anyone can end this he can. We can’t go off half-cocked!”

Steve was vibrating with the need to do something but his trained SEAL brain quickly began to assert itself over his panicked friend brain. He nodded and took a deep breath letting it out slowly.

“Yeah…you’re right Lieutenant. I’m sorry.”

Anaka gave him a brief, sympathetic smile and turned her attention once again to the crime scene. At that moment the door opened and the officers crouched lower behind the barricade pointing their weapons at the doorway. A frightened looking man peered out through the doorway.

“Don’t shoot,” he yelled out when he saw the guns. “We’re the hostages. We’re coming out.”

“Come out single file with your hands on your heads,” Anaka barked. “Walk slowly towards us. Make no sudden moves.”

Steve scanned their faces as they emerged from the office. His heart sank. Danny wasn’t among them.

The hostages moved behind the barricade and were searched before being led away. Lt. Anaka took one of them aside.

“What’s the situation in there?” she asked the thin faced woman in her late 50s.

“The gunman is named Terry Brock. He’s a long-time drug user with a record for petty theft and property crimes. Two weeks ago we had to take his five-year-old son into custody because Brock wasn’t caring for him properly. Brock became enraged and has had several loud phone arguments with Rosemary Chang, the case worker assigned to the little boy’s file. Today Brock pushed his way into the office and began screaming at Rosemary demanding she return his boy. Before anyone knew what was happening, he shot Rosemary in the head.”

“Is she still alive?” asked Anaka.

The woman’s calm demeanor began to crack and Steve saw tears fill her eyes as her bottom lip began to quiver.

“No…no she’s dead.”

“What about the police officer?” Steve interrupted

“He said his name was Detective Williams. He...he convinced Brock to let us go,” she replied, a tear sliding down her cheek. “He’s been injured. Brock shot him in the arm but he’s trying to talk to Brock, trying to get him to give up before the situation gets worse.’

Steve closed his eyes briefly trying to shove away the image of Danny with a bullet wound. He forced himself to calm down and think clearly. Danny needed him focused and rational, not freaking out.

Steve turned as a uniformed police officer jogged up to the command post handing a folded document to Anaka.

“The blueprint of the offices you requested ma’am.”

Anaka nodded at the young man and knelt down to spread the map on the floor. Looking up at the former hostage she gestured to the blueprints.

“Can you show us on here where Brock is holding Detective Williams?”

The older woman knelt down beside the Lieutenant and examined the blueprints briefly before pointing to the open area in front of the cubicle farm.

“Here.” Her finger traveled over the blueprint and circled another area. “The reception area, which is just behind that door, is here. There are two halls leading off the reception area and they lead here to the open area where the cubicles are located. That’s where Brock and Detective Williams were when we left.”

Steve studied the map over Anaka’s shoulder. He noticed there was a wall between the reception area and the open area where Danny was apparently being held.

“Is there any way to see into the reception area from where the hostage taker is now?” he asked looking over at the woman.

“There are no windows,” she replied, “but there is a hidden video camera located here," she pointed again to a corner of the room. "That’s how Brock saw Detective Williams enter the reception area in the first place. The screen displaying the feed is in one of the cubicles.”

Steve looked up as he saw Chin Ho Kelly moving swiftly down the hall towards him. The Commander stepped away from Anaka and the older woman to meet Chin part way down the hall.

“What’s going on Steve? We heard about the hostage taking when we got back. A young cop told me Danny kept him from getting shot and shoved him out of the office.”

Steve’s eyes went wide at that information. He hadn’t heard about Danny saving the young officer but he wasn’t surprised. He took Chin by the elbow and guided him back down the hall away from the barricade.

“As far as we know, Danny is injured but maybe not badly. He got the gunman to release all the civilian hostages. Now it’s just Danny and the gunman, whose name is Terry Brock.”

“What does Brock want?”

Steve shook his head and rubbed his face with his hands before dropping them back to his side.

“We don’t know yet, but apparently Children’s Services took his son away from him last week. He may demand the boy’s return. Listen Chin, Danny is being held in an area behind the reception area. Brock can’t see into the reception area but he can monitor it through a CCTV system. Do you think there’s any way you could tap into that system and disable it?”

Chin chewed his lip for a moment while he considered the request.

“Maybe, if the feed is on a network but if their system is housed in that office I won’t be able to get near it.”

Steve grit his teeth and sighed in annoyance.

“There may be another way though,” continued Chin, his eyes bright with the new idea. “I might be able to disrupt the signal with a jamming device. It should make the screen go fuzzy enough that Brock wouldn’t be able to see what was happening in the reception area.”

A slow smile spread across Steve’s face.

“You’re a genius man. Get to work on it will you? I don’t know what kind of condition Danny is in or how much blood he’s lost. We may not have much time.”

 

**********

 

Danny looked up into the frightened eyes of the pathetic gunman.

“You need to let me go. That’s what you should do Terry. Walk out of here with me and this will all be over. No one else needs to get hurt.”

Terry shook his head rapidly.

“No man, no. I can’t do that. You’re my bargaining chip. They’ll listen to me if I have you. I can’t let you g0. If I keep you maybe they’ll give me my kid back.”

Danny and Terry both jumped slightly when a phone rang on a desk near where Terry was standing. The gunman stumbled backwards and pointed his gun at the phone like he planned to shoot it.

“Terry, no!” Danny yelled. “If you fire your gun they’ll come storming in here.”

The gunman’s eyes darted over to Danny and then back to the ringing phone.

“Answer it,” suggested Danny gently. “It’s probably the negotiator. Tell them what you want.”

Terry stared at the phone for a moment then stepped forward and reached out a shaky hand to push the speaker button.

“Who is this?” he snapped.

“Terry? This is Sergeant Mike Alonso with HPD. I want to try to help you and see if we can end this situation peacefully so no one else gets hurt.”

Terry swallowed and glanced over to Danny who nodded his head encouragingly.

“I have a cop in here with me, he’s already hurt. He’ll maybe die if you don’t give me what I want.”

The hostage negotiator’s voice was firm but gentle; he was trained to be unflappable.

“OK Terry, why don’t you tell me what you want and I’ll try to help you out.”

The gunman grinned and shifted from one foot to the other as he considered his demands.

“OK…ok, this is what I want. I want my son brought here to me and then I want a helicopter on the roof to take me…somewhere I want to go and then I want a million dollars.”

Danny rolled his eyes and shook his head in disgust. Terry was a dangerous moron.

“That’s a tall order Terry,” replied Sergeant Alonso. “I don’t have the authority to make those kinds of promises myself. I’ll have to go to my Chief and he may have to talk to the Governor.”

Terry’s eyes went wide with anger.

“How fucking long is that going to take?” he screamed.

“That’s kind of hard to say at the moment, but we’ll work as fast as we can. I promise you. But Terry before we go any further I need to know how Detective Williams is doing.”

The gunman licked his lips nervously and looked over at Danny gesturing to the phone.

“Talk to him. Tell him you’re ok.”

Danny shifted slightly forward in his chair.

“Mike, its Danny, I’m ok.”

“Danny? How badly are you hurt?”

“I caught a round in my arm. Looks like it went through. There’s a lot of blood but I don’t think it hit anything major.”

Terry stepped closer to the phone.

“See? He’s lost a lot of blood. If you don’t give me what I want he could die. I don’t want him to die but he might if you don’t take me seriously.”

The Sergeant’s calm voice returned.

“I hear you Terry, and I want you to understand we’re taking your demands very seriously but…well…I think things would go better, I mean my Chief would be more willing to help, if you gave a show of good faith.”

Scrunching his eyebrows together in confusion, Terry pointed his gun at the phone again.

“What do you mean good faith?”

“Do something that shows you’re willing to work with us. Show us that you really don’t want to hurt anyone and that you care about what happens to Detective Williams.”

“Like…what kind thing are you talking about? I’m not letting him go.”

“Well…” the Sergeant paused as if thinking it over. “How about letting a paramedic into the office to treat the detective?”

Terry shook his head although Mike couldn’t see the movement.

“No man, you’ll send a cop in and he’ll shoot me.”

“No Terry, that won’t happen. When the paramedic comes in you can search him and his bag. He’ll just patch up the detective and maybe give him something for the pain. That will be all.”

Terry turned to face Danny.

“What do you think I should do? Should I trust him?”

Danny nodded and gave the younger man what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

“Yeah Terry I told you, cops are valuable hostages. They’re not going to do anything stupid. Let the guy in.”

Terry licked his lips nervously, eyes darting between Danny and the phone.

“Terry!” Danny’s voice was firm. “I’m bleeding heavily here. If you don’t let him in I could pass out or die, then where will you be?”

Taking several rapid breaths, Terry stared at the carpet obviously struggling with the decision. He looked back at the phone.

“OK man, one paramedic. He can come in and do what he needs to then leave. He can have 10 minutes then he has to get out.”

“Terry—“

“I said 10 minutes man!” Terry screamed at the phone. “I don’t trust you fucking cops.”

“OK, Terry,” the Sergeant on the other end of the phone soothed. “OK, you’re the boss. The paramedic will be coming in shortly. Don’t hurt him ok? He’ll just be there to help.”

**********

“I’m going in,” announced Steve turning to focus his hard gaze at Lt. Anaka. “Get me a paramedic’s uniform and a medical kit.”

The SWAT leader looked at him like he was nuts.

“Commander, don’t be ridiculous. Your partner needs medical treatment –“

“I’m a Navy SEAL, Lieutenant,” Steve interrupted. “I have combat first aid training. I can start IV’s, put in stitches, and take blood pressure readings. This Terry freak will never know the difference.”

The SWAT leader stared at him for a moment.

“I don’t know…”

“Well I do. Danny’s my partner and I’m going in there to take care of him. That’s final.”

 

**********

 

Steve entered the Five-0 offices to find Chin and Kono examining a hand-held piece of equipment. The cousins looked up when their boss entered.

“Steve, how’s Danny?” Kono asked trying not to let her fear seep into her voice.

“He’s hanging in there, Kono,” the SEAL assured her with a small smile. “The negotiator spoke to him and he sounds ok.”

Steve turned his attention to Chin.

“Do you have what we need?”

Chin smiled and held up the electronic device.

“It should jam the signal quite effectively. I’ll need to be within about 10 feet of the camera in order to make it happen though.”

Steve considered for a moment.

“The gunman has agreed to let a paramedic in to check Danny over. I’m going to do it myself. If I can get that thing close enough to the camera can I just flip a switch and turn it on?”

Chin nodded.

“Yeah, that should work.”

Steve nodded.

“OK then, here’s how we’re going to play this.”

 

**********

 

Terry was sitting on the floor a few feet away from Danny and appeared to be drifting off to sleep. The detective slowly pulled himself off the chair and dropped to his knees. If he could just move over to the dozing man and grab the gun…

Terry jumped when the phone rang again. He looked around bleary-eyed for a moment before noticing Danny was hunched on the floor.

“What are you doing man?” he asked suspiciously.

Danny shrugged slightly, the movement sending a jolt of pain through his arm.

“I couldn’t stay upright on the chair anymore. I needed to get down on the floor.”

The gunman stared at him for a moment considering that answer. Finally he nodded.

Danny gestured at the phone with his head.

“Aren’t you going to answer it?”

Terry climbed slowly to his feet and picked up the receiver holding it to his ear. Danny could only hear one side of the conversation. The gunman listened for a moment before he spoke.

“Yeah ok, but you better not try anything. I can see exactly what’s happening on the security camera. If he tries anything funny or anyone else comes in, I’ll kill this cop.”

The gunman slammed down the phone and looked back at Danny.

“Paramedic is on his way in.”

Danny nodded and glanced around.

“Security cameras?” he questioned. “I didn’t see one in the lobby.”

The gunman began pacing nervously.

“I don’t know, I guess it’s hidden but I can see the feed on a monitor over there,” he gestured to an office behind a half wall that Danny couldn’t have seen from his vantage point. Danny sighed. That’s how Terry knew he and the young cop were in the office.

Terry stiffened when he heard a nervous sounding voice call out.

“Back here,” he yelled. “Put your hands up where I can see them and don’t do anything stupid.”

Danny looked over at the entrance to the hallway as he heard someone approaching. His heart leapt to his throat when Steve walked into the area dressed as a paramedic. The SEAL had his hands up, one of them clutching a medical bag. He looked nervous. Danny knew it was just an act.

Steve glanced briefly at Danny who had managed to drag himself against a wall for support. The two partners stared at each other for a brief moment and nodded imperceptibly.

Steve looked back at Terry.

“My name is John and I’m here to treat Detective Williams.”

He even managed to put a slight tremor in his voice. Danny was impressed with his acting chops.

Moving hesitantly, Terry walked around Steve then pushed him up against one of the half walls dividing the cubicles. He forced Steve to spread his legs then patted him down inexpertly, keeping the gun jammed in Steve’s back the entire time. Deciding Steve wasn’t armed, Terry grabbed the medical bag and took a few steps back and crouched on the floor. He searched the bag with one hand while keeping the gun pointed at Steve. Finally he picked up the bag and tossed it back to the SEAL who caught it easily.

“You’ve got 10 minutes. Get busy. You do anything stupid or heroic, I’ll kill you and him.”

Steve nodded and went over to Danny kneeling down in front of him, his back to the gunman. Steve picked up Danny’s hand and squeezed it briefly before sliding his hand up his partner’s wrist to take his pulse.

“How are you feeling Detective?”

Danny smiled slightly at the fake paramedic.

“I’m ok. Getting a bit weak but I’m ok.”

Steve nodded.

“I’ve got some plasma here that should help and I’ll patch up your wound.”

The detective swallowed at the idea of Steve jabbing a needle into his vein. His partner caught the look.

“Don’t worry; I’m good at this. You’re going to be just fine.”

Steve busied himself for the next few minutes starting an IV on Danny, giving him an injection for the pain and cleaning his wound before wrapping it. He stood up when he was done.

Terry, who had been kneeling nearby, stood up as well.

“OK, you’ve taken care of him, now get out.”

“I should really stay until the IV finishes,” Steve insisted.

“Fuck that,” Terry growled. “I don’t want you around here any longer. Get out.”

Steve licked his bottom lip nervously and looked down at Danny, his eyes filled with worry and guilt.

The detective smiled up at him and reached out to pat his leg comfortingly.

“Thanks for the help John. You did a great job. I’m grateful to you.”

Steve nodded.

“Good luck detective. You’re handling this with a lot of Grace. I know everything will be just fine.”

Danny’s eyes flashed with pain at the mention of his daughter’s name but he forced a smile to his lips and nodded.

Terry angrily gestured to the hallway exit with his gun.

“Get out. NOW!” he yelled.

Steve nodded again and, sparing one brief glance for Danny, turned and walked out of the cubicle area and down the hall to the foyer.

Terry rushed over to watch his exit on the monitor. His sudden laugh confused Danny.

“What?”

“The klutzy moron tripped and dropped his bag. He’s picking the shit up now. What an idiot.”

Danny suppressed a small smile. Klutzy was the last word anyone would use to describe Steve. The SEAL was up to something.

Danny jumped when Terry suddenly surged forward and smashed his fist into the side of the video monitor.

“What the fuck?” the gunman yelled, smashing the monitor again. “Everything’s fuzzy.”

He hit the monitor several more times before straightening up with a relieved sigh.

“Oh. It’s ok now. Cheap piece of shit.”

Danny schooled his features to look calm but his nerves were on edge. Something was about to go down.

 

**********

 

Chin turned the jammer off as soon as he, Steve, Kono and the four SWAT members were inside the Children’s Service offices and out of the camera’s view. During his “accidental” stumble, Steve had activated the jammer and left it on the floor under the video camera. Steve ran quickly to the door and opened it for the rescue team, each of whom moved soundlessly to their pre-assigned places.

Kono handed Steve his gun then moved off to the right-hand hallway with Lt. Anaka and two of the SWAT team members.

Steve and Chin began moving swiftly and silently down the left hallway with the remaining SWAT member.

 

**********

 

Terry began pacing again throwing angry glances at the phone.

“Why aren’t they calling? I did my good faith thing, now I want them to start meeting my demands. I want my million dollars.”

Shifting against the wall to prop himself up a bit more, Danny sighed.

“The Sergeant told you it’s hard to get a helicopter, not to mention a million dollars. They’re probably busy trying to arrange that.”

The gunman swung around and stalked over to Danny looming over him angrily.

“They better not try to fuck me over. I don’t want to kill you but I will.”

Danny waved his hand in a weak, dismissive gesture.

“No one’s trying to fuck you over Terry, just calm down.”

Terry began to turn away when he heard a thump coming from the right-hand hallway.

Clutching his gun in both hands, he began to swivel back and forth between the two entrances.

“Who’s there?” he screamed hysterically. “You better fucking show yourselves or I’ll kill him.”

Taking a step away from Danny, Terry continued to swivel his torso back and forth, holding the gun stiffly in front of him. Seeing his opportunity, Danny gathered his remaining strength and kicked out savagely smashing his foot into the gunman’s knee. Terry screamed in pain and dropped hard onto his left hip still clutching his weapon. He stared at his hostage in disbelief for no more than a second before raising the gun and taking aim at Danny’s head.

The detective drew in a sharp breath as he saw Terry’s finger whiten on the trigger. Danny flinched when a shot rang out and Terry’s body was slammed back to the floor, a blossom of blood spreading across his chest. The detective looked sideways and saw Steve lowering his weapon, a satisfied look on his face.

Danny slumped wearily back against the wall and turned his gaze back to the lifeless eyes of the young gunman.

 

**********

 

Danny was sitting up in his hospital bed playing listlessly with a bowl of lime Jell-O when Steve entered the room. His partner smiled and sat down on the bed squeezing Danny’s leg gently.

“How are you doing man?”

Danny shrugged slightly and gave a brief smile.

“I’m ok, but I’d like to get out of here.”

Steve nodded in understanding.

“Tomorrow the doctor said. It’s only been just over a day. He wants to be sure you’re strong enough before you go home. You lost a fair amount of blood you know.”

The blond detective sighed and nodded returning his baleful gaze to his Jell-O.

“I guess.”

“Hey,” Steve said ducking his head slightly to catch his partner’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

The detective shook his head dismissively but didn’t respond. He looked up sharply when Steve pulled the spoon out of his hand, dropped it on the food tray and pushed the wheeled table away from the bed.

“Hey, I was eating that!” complained Danny.

“No you weren’t, you were playing with it. Now tell me what’s wrong.”

Danny dropped his eyes and began picking at the blanket covering him.

“Nothing.”

Steve sighed and put a hand on Danny’s good shoulder giving it a squeeze.

“Danny, I know when something’s bothering you. Just tell me ok?”

His partner glanced up at him and looked away again nervously.

“You wouldn’t understand and I don’t think I can explain it in any way that doesn’t make me look like a jerk.”

Steve folded his hands lightly on his lap.

“C’mon man. We’re partners and friends. You can tell me anything. I’m not going to think you’re a jerk.”

Danny chewed his bottom lip pensively for a moment.

“It’s just that…well the whole hostage thing…it’s like, I don’t know, you had to rescue me again. Steve swoops in and saves the day.”

Danny glanced up at his partner and saw a mixture of hurt and confusion flicker across his face. The blond detective slid further down on the bed and turned his head away from his friend.

“See? Makes me sound like a jerk.”

“No, it’s ok. Just explain to me what you mean? Are you sorry I was there?”

Danny flinched and turned back to look at his friend.

“No, of course not, I’m glad you were there and I’m grateful too I just…I feel like I fucked the entire situation up and you had to fix it. Sometimes I wonder…”

Danny lifted his good arm and covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow. This conversation was embarrassing and there was no way he was going to come out of it looking like anything less than a whiny child.

“Wonder what?” Steve prompted his hand back to resting on Danny’s knee.

Danny licked his lips and dropped his arm to meet his partner’s gaze again. If he was going to say this he might as well get it out.

“I wonder…what I’m doing as part of Five-0.”

Steve’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What? What are you talking about Danny? How could you even say that?”

Danny felt his cheeks flush but he’d dug himself into this hole and now he needed to climb out.

“It’s just that...I feel like everyone else has got some amazing skill that I don’t possess. Kono’s kick-ass tough and Chin’s a computer genius and you’re a fucking super hero.”

Steve rolled his eyes and huffed out an annoyed sigh.

“I’m not a super hero Danny, I just have a lot of special skills. If you had been a SEAL you would have the same skills.”

Danny shook his head in frustration. He knew he wasn’t making his point adequately.

“It’s not just the SEAL stuff it’s you…it’s everything you are. I feel like…” He sighed again and thought for a moment. An idea came to him and he turned back to meet Steve’s gaze again.

“You’re like a bonfire.”

Steve’s eyebrows drew together quizzically.

“I’m a bonfire?”

Danny nodded sitting up a little straighter now that he had the thread of his argument.

“Yeah, you’re a bonfire. You know when you’re walking down the beach at night and you see a bonfire? You find yourself drawn to it you know? It’s big and bit dangerous and you don’t always know how it’s going to behave but…well you’re drawn to it. It’s bright and warm and you feel safer around it. You can’t take your eyes off it ‘cause it has all this power…”

Danny’s voice trailed off when he saw a small smile twitch at the edge of Steve’s lips.

“Well, I’ve never been compared to a bonfire before. I kind of like it. But why is it a bad thing?”

Swallowing hard, Danny dropped his eyes to the blanket again.

“Because…it’s not a bad thing, it’s just that sometimes I feel like…I’m standing in the shadow of the fire.”

Steve lifted his head in sudden understanding. He turned a fond gaze back to Danny.

“You feel like you’re not appreciated.”

It was a statement more than a question.

Danny shook his head.

“It’s not that I’m not appreciated, it’s more like I’m appreciated for things that don’t matter, like my ability to do paperwork or my knowledge of the criminal code.”

“Those things matter,” argued Steve softly.

“They do but…they kind of make me bland and dull, unlike the rest of you who are so – I don’t know – dynamic or something.”

Steve barked out a laugh.

“Oh god Danny, that’s rich, the idea of you being bland and dull. That’s like calling a hurricane a summer breeze.”

Danny shifted in the bed to turn slightly away from his partner.

“That’s not what I meant. I told you it would make me sound like a jerk. Let’s just forget this conversation.”

Steve pulled his lips tightly together and struggled to wipe the smile off his face. Putting his hand on his partner’s shoulder he turned the detective back to look at him.

“Listen Danny, I think I understand what you’re saying. No, you don’t have Chin’s computer skills or his knowledge of the island. No, you don’t have Kono’s roundhouse kick or her youthful enthusiasm. No, you don’t have SEAL training or some of the skills I possess. But what you do have is vital for the continued functioning of this unit.”

Danny rolled his eyes causing Steve to huff to in annoyance. He stood up and began shoving Danny over on the bed.

“What the fuck, McGarrett?”

“Move for Christ’s sake, I want to lie down. Why should you be the only comfortable one?”

Danny grumbled but moved over until he was leaning up against the railing running the length of the bed.

“I’m the frigging hospital patient here,” he grumbled.

Steve kicked off his shoes and lay down beside his partner. Despite his continued grumbling, Danny shifted closer to his friend and jammed himself up against Steve’s warm body.

Almost unconsciously, Steve reached an arm around his partner and pulled until Danny’s head was resting on his shoulder.

“As I was saying…you’re a vital part of the team Danny. You’re a terrific cop, you have knowledge of big city policing; of the mob and gangs the rest of us don’t have. You may feel unimportant handling the paperwork but you know as well as I do that a properly documented case is the difference between a conviction and letting some scumbag asshole walk the streets again. If we – If I – didn’t have you around to make sure the T’s were crossed, there is no way that 5-0 would have succeeded.”

“Maybe, but…”

“And I don’t ever want to hear you denigrating your skills or your value to this team or to this island,” Steve continued ignoring Danny’s interruption.

“You do a hell of a lot more than just fill out paperwork and you know it. You saved the lives of all of those hostages Danny, including that police officer you shoved out of the way. You were shot and you kept your cool. You kept a bad situation from getting worse and you took down the bad guy even after you’d lost so much blood.”

Danny opened his mouth to argue but Steve kept barreling on.

“I may have finished the guy off but you took him down partner. In fact I should be angry with you for going into that situation in the first place without backup – especially because you would be giving me shit about it if our positions were reversed. But I’m not angry because I know those people are alive because of your skills and your training and your courage.”

Danny flushed again as he felt his eyes fill with tears. He turned his head slightly to bury his face in Steve’s shirt.

“You’re a good cop Danny,” Steve continued, his voice now gentle. “I know I tend to get a lot of attention, and I know you sometimes feel like you’re in the shadows, but I couldn’t do this job without you buddy. I may be the head of Five-0 but you’re the heart.”

Steve lifted his other hand and swept it lightly over Danny’s head stopping to muss his partner’s always perfect hair affectionately.

“OK?” He asked tilting his head to look down at the blonde detective. “We cool now?”

Danny smiled and nodded looking up at Steve sheepishly, then away.

“Yeah. Sorry. Guess I’m a bit needier than I thought.”

Steve shrugged.

“We all have our moments of feeling insecure, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. But if something’s bothering you I want you to come and tell me, no matter how stupid you think it is, alright?”

Danny smiled and nodded his head before resting it back on Steve’s shoulder.

“Yeah, ok.”

The two men smiled at each other once more and weren’t the least embarrassed when Chin and Kono came into the room with smuggled burgers and fries.

Kono grinned mischievously at the sight of the two tough guys lying together on the bed.

“Whoops, sorry bosses. Are we interrupting something? Want us to come back in a few minutes?”

“A few minutes?” Danny snorted. “Let me tell you something missy. If anything like that was going on here I’d need an hour at least. I can’t speak for Steve, of course. Mr. Ninja SEAL would probably be in and out before anyone knew what happened.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve pulled his arm from around Danny and climbed off the bed to grab a burger.

“You keep telling yourself that Danno,” he replied grinning fondly down at his partner. “I have many, top-secret skills that the ladies enjoy. Unfortunately they’re all classified so I can’t discuss them.”

Chin groaned and dug a burger out of the bag and handed it to Steve.

“Oh god, we’re getting into a weird area here. Can’t we talk about something pleasant, like gunfights or something?”

“Why don’t we talk about the award that Danny’s getting?” Kono chirped happily.

The detective looked up from his burger in confusion.

“Award?”

Steve sighed and threw an annoyed glance at Kono.

“Well I had planned to tell you tomorrow when Grace was here…” he looked pointedly at Kono again who mouthed the word sorry and sat down in a chair at the end of Danny’s bed.

“…but the Governor is giving you a commendation for bravery.”

Danny stared at the taller man in shock for a moment before dropping his eyes back down to the burger and fiddling with it while he swallowed convulsively.

“That’s ahhh…that’s nice, but you know I was just doing my job.”

“Maybe so,” replied Chin patting Danny on the leg before sitting down on a nearby chair to eat his burger. “But you did a fantastic job and you saved a lot of lives. You deserve this award Danny and we’re all going to be there to watch you get it.”

Danny glanced up at Steve again with brimming eyes – fucking drugs making him so emotional. He opened his mouth to speak but found that he couldn’t get the words out so he shut it again and returned his gaze to the burger.

Steve saw the emotional struggle and decided to provide back up.

“Know what the best thing about this is Danny?” He asked his friend who shook his head in response.

“You get to wear a tie to the ceremony! In fact we’ll all wear ties!”

“Even me!” said Kono beginning to laugh.

Danny grinned and looked up at his closest friends. He shook his head in mock disgust.

“God, the things I have to do to get you guys to dress like professionals.”

 

The end.


End file.
